First batch of laptops arrives in Guyana

The first batch of lap tops for the One Laptop Per Family (OLPF) initiative arrived in Guyana on Friday and they are expected to be handed out to recipients as early as next Friday.

The 5000 laptops were flown in by the supplier, Haier. The computers are valued in excess of US$ 1.4 million (Gy$280 million).

“Within one week these laptops are going to be in the hands of the recipients. This process has been very meticulously rolled out. It has been rolled out with the latest of technology and, more particularly, with one of the youngest and most professional staff anywhere in our country,” Labour Minister Manzoor Nadir, who has Cabinet responsibility for the initiative, said.

Speaking at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Timehri following the offloading of the computers, Nadir said that the supplier has stuck to the schedule.

Earlier, it was announced that the computers were expected before the end of October.

The government has procured 27,000 laptops for the initial phase of the OLPF project. A total of 90,000 laptops are expected to be distributed under the project and already the Chinese government has awarded a contract for 31,000 laptops valued US$ 8.5 million which is expected by yearend, Nadir added.

In excess of 19,000 persons have already been verified, out of those who applied for a laptop obilizin stipulated criteria. Those are single parents, persons with disabled family members, and persons with income of Gy$50,000 and less. “We want to reemphasise that this thing is about bringing more and better knowledge to the Guyanese family,” Nadir said.

Verification officers were dispatched on August 15 across the country to verify the thousands of applications that were submitted to the OLPF Secretariat.

Simultaneous with the distribution of the laptops, training centres will be activated starting next week. Thirty-five learning centres will be in operation across eight regions of the country.

Only two regions are not included: Regions Eight and Nine. Before receiving the computers, recipients have to spend a minimum of 10 hours of training at the centres. After the training is completed, persons and their families can revisit the centres and use the facilities free of cost, Nadir explained.

The government of Guyana will be supporting the training centres financially and will pay for every recipient who is trained in the use of the laptops, said Nadir. “We’re going to be covering the Internet cost of the hub and we will be providing the hub with a small honorarium to cover some basics like the electricity, like the cleaning.” Nadir said a special programme has been created for hinterland locations. The challenge in Regions Nine and Eight is a reliable supply of electricity and Internet connectivity, two very important requirements for this programme, Nadir pointed out. “We expect that every Amerindian village in the next two years will have if not laptops… they will have hubs 24 hours, operating with electricity and also with connectivity,” Nadir said.

Under the OLPF initiative, it is hoped that before the end of the year 50,000 laptops will be given out to Guyanese families.